NJ Unemployment Claims Jump

STATE – New unemployment claims increased in New Jersey for the week ending July 31, according to data released today by the federal Department of Labor. State officials blamed a rise in layoffs in the construction, trade, service, transportation, warehousing and manufacturing industries for the 1,124 claim increase.

New York and Pennsylvania also reported a higher incidence of initial unemployment claims. Filings increased by 1,159 in New York due to layoffs in the construction, trade and service industries. Pennsylvania saw a 1,536 increase in initial claims due to layoffs in the trade and service industries.

Earlier this week, the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that there were 2.9 million job openings nationwide on the last business day of June. The number of job openings is essentially unchanged since May, but has risen significantly since July 2009 when there were only 2.3 million. In December 2007, when the recession officially began, there were 4.4 million job openings.